Commute to work

[Princess_Ariel_5]

How long is your commute to work? Currently, mine is about 5 minutes. It's not all great though. Living and working in the same neighborhood has gotten to me. I'm a teacher so I can't go anywhere without seeing kids and it's like I have no separation of home life and work life. My fiancé and I are looking to buy a house in the suburbs. One area that interests us is about 45 min away without traffic. With traffic, the commute could be over an hour. We currently work in the city together. We would be commuting together each day if we moved out to the suburbs. And eventually, we would like to work in the suburbs too.

I love the idea of living in the town we are interested in but I'm a little nervous about the commute every day.

How long do you commute to your job?

 

[TheIncredibles!]

3 days a week it's a 5 second commute. 2 days a week it's 90 minutes each way.

 

[Christine]

I live in the suburbs of DC. On a good day, I can get to work in exactly 36 minutes. On a bad day, it is much longer than that.

After years of doing this, I always advise to live as close to your work center as possible. Over years, a commute will steal your soul. I realize that's not true for everyone. There are folks who put a LOT of emphasis on a house and having land that, for them, it mitigates the stress of the commute. For me, that feeling only lasted about a year.

 

[RedAngie]

Depending on traffic, 10-15 minutes. Sometimes longer if I get stuck at every red light on the way. I don't need to be there at any specific time.

About twice a month I go to the company's main HQ, about 45 minutes away.

 

[moniqueand2]

About one half hour for me and I would not recommend a commute any longer than that. I see this play out in my co-workers with longer drive times. Google commute to work and quality of life. Since you are a teacher an hour commute sounds really hard as you would have your after school planning to do at home. If you move, I'd get a job in your suburb as soon as possible.

 

[VACamm]

My commute is 15 minutes each way.

 

[BrianL]

Mine's about 7 minutes (less in summer with no school traffic), and I love it. I would hate working far from home.

 

[mjkacmom]

Are you planning on having children? It can be hard when both parents are far, unless you have someone close by who can get them if they're sick or hurt. Also consider wear and tear on your vehicle.

 

[sonnyjane]

10 minutes most days. A short commute is priceless for me. I'd never give up 5 minutes for 45.

 

[Princess_Ariel_5]

Are you planning on having children? It can be hard when both parents are far, unless you have someone close by who can get them if they're sick or hurt. Also consider wear and tear on your vehicle.

Yes, we do plan on children. My parents are nearby though and hopefully by then, we will have changed jobs somewhere closer to home.

 

[LinderInWonderland]

My commute is about 70 minutes each way - but I work 4 10s, so that's only 4 days a week. My husband drives me to the train each morning (10 minutes from our home), it takes an hour to get to the city and it's less than a 5 minute walk from the station to my office. He picks me up from the train as well. Mondays and Tuesdays are the only 'extra long' days because those are the only days we both work (he's off Weds/Thurs). If the train runs on time and the bus that runs near my house is just a little late leaving the station, I can get home before him. Otherwise, I just go get coffee and he picks me up when he's done.

I have commuted all my adult life, with one exception (a job in NYC that was 5 blocks from my apartment). I love public transportation and it has saved me an extraordinary amount of money over my lifetime. We own one car, though only my husband drives it.

I like easing into my day by reading on the train and decompressing by also reading on the way home. By the time I'm off the train, any work stress is gone and I can focus on relaxing with with my husband for a few hours before bed.

I know I would feel differently if I had to drive myself for that amount of time because I wouldn't be able to relax. If you are sharing the commute and taking turns driving, you would be able to mitigate some of that stress. My husband would prefer I work closer to home, but I am such a city girl and love the energy of being here.

 

[sk!mom]

2-3 minutes.i'm a teacher, as well, and teach at the neighborhood school. I love the short commute. I'm currently teaching summer school across town- 15-20 minutes- and I hate the commute. Plus I normally fill my car once a month but this commute has used double the gas.

The commute you're considering wouldn't have been a deal breaker before having kids but with kids- no way.

 

[HulaHoopy]

1 hour and 10 minutes. (mostly on the train) It stinks!

 

[MickeySP]

Well the walk to my driveway is about 30 seconds. The drive to my office takes about 25-35 minutes.

 

[HM]

My commute is about 7 miles and takes about 15 minutes.

 

[gotomu212]

Now it's 5 sec, it used to be over an hour. Commuting that much killed me (esp as I got older and had a child). An extra hour each way adds 2 hours to my day x5 days a week meant 10 hours extra a week. Basically a whole other work day was added each week.

 

[PattnFmly]

I commute into Boston every day. Train station is a 10 minute walk from my home and I have a 35 minute train ride (on a good day) then another 10 minute walk to work. Generally it's about an hour each way. If I had it to do over again, I'd have found a new job around the time I had the kids so I would be closer to home. Difficult when they have concerts, doctors appts, even Parent Teacher meetings. But I do love my job and between my DH and I we make it work.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

35 minutes each way, and since I discovered audiobooks I love it! It's 70 minutes a day I have to myself to do nothing but drive and listen with no chores or work to do.

 

[kamik86]

20 min. But that is because I go in at 6:30 and leave by 4 at the latest. If I did normal rush hour that would rise a bit. On a bad day it can also go up much longer but that is rare (there is only one good road not even back roads in places and its only 2-4 lanes so one decent accident can make the commute MUCH longer.

 

[camreesmom]

About 10 miles. It usually takes around 15 minutes if I time it right. If I leave too early, I get stuck in traffic and end up getting to work at the same time anyway! We're in a rural area so there are a lot of people who commute. Some of them as far away as two hours each way. I couldn't handle that but they carpool in.